Birds Vol 2 #1 – American Woodcock

August 9, 2012 by Lee

American Woodcock from Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897 From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.

THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK.

SN’T this American Woodcock, or indeed any member of the family, a comical bird? His head is almost square, and what a remarkable eye he has! It is a seeing eye, too, for he does not require light to enable him to detect the food he seeks in the bogs. He has many names to characterize him, such as Bog-sucker, Mud Snipe, Blind Snipe. His greatest enemies are the pot hunters, who nevertheless have nothing but praise to bestow upon him, his flesh is so exquisitely palatable. Even those who deplore and deprecate the destruction of birds are not unappreciative of his good qualities in this respect.

The Woodcock inhabits eastern North America, the north British provinces, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas, and breeds throughout the range.

Night is the time when the Woodcock enjoys life. He never flies voluntarily by day, but remains secluded in close and sheltered thickets till twilight, when he seeks his favorite feeding places. His sight is imperfect by day, but at night he readily secures his food, assisted doubtless by an extraordinary sense of smell. His remarkably large and handsome eye is too sensitive for the glare of the sun, and during the greater part of the day he remains closely concealed in marshy thickets or in rank grass. In the morning and evening twilight and on moonlight nights, he seeks his food in open places. The early riser may find him with ease, but the first glow from the rays of the morning sun will cause his disappearance from the landscape.

He must be looked for in swamps, and in meadows with soft bottoms. During very wet seasons he seeks higher land—usually cornfields—and searches for food in the mellow plowed ground, where his presence is indicated by holes made by his bill. In seasons of excessive drought the Woodcock resorts in large numbers to tide water creeks and the banks of fresh water rivers. So averse is he to an excess of water, that after continued or very heavy rains he has been known suddenly to disappear from widely extended tracts of country.

A curious habit of the Woodcock, and one that is comparatively little known, is that of carrying its young in order to remove them from danger. So many trustworthy naturalists maintain this to be true that it must be accepted as characteristic of this interesting bird. She takes her young from place to place in her toe grasps as scarcity of food or safety may require.

As in the case of many birds whose colors adapt them to certain localities or conditions of existence, the patterns of the beautiful chestnut parts of the Woodcock mimic well the dead leaves and serve to protect the female and her young. The whistle made by their wings when flying is a manifestation of one of the intelligences of nature.

The male Woodcock, it is believed, when he gets his “intended” off entirely to himself, exhibits in peculiar dances and jigs that he is hers and hers only, or rises high on the wing cutting the most peculiar capers and gyrations in the air, protesting to her in the grass beneath the most earnest devotion, or advertising to her his whereabouts.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) on nest © USFWS

THE WOODCOCK.

Here is a bird that is not often seen in the daytime. During the day he stays in the deep woods or among the tall marsh grasses.

It is at twilight that you may see him. He then comes out in search of food.

Isn’t he an odd-looking bird? His bill is made long so that he can bore into the soft ground for earthworms.

You notice his color is much like the Ruffed Grouse in June “BIRDS.” This seems to be the color of a great many birds whose home is among the grasses and dried leaves. Maybe you can see a reason for this.

Those who have watched the Woodcock carefully, say that he can move the tip end of the upper part of his bill. This acts like a finger in helping him to draw his food from the ground.

What a sight it must be to see a number of these weird-looking birds at work getting their food. If they happen to be in a swampy place, they often find earthworms by simply turning over the dead leaves.

If there should be, near by, a field that has been newly plowed, they will gather in numbers, at twilight, and search for worms.

The Woodcock has short wings for his size. He seems to be able to fly very fast. You can imagine how he looks while flying—his long bill out in front and his legs hanging down.
Summary

AMERICAN WOODCOCK.—Philohela minor. Other names: “Bog-sucker,” “Mud Snipe,” “Blind Snipe.”

Range—Eastern North America, breeding throughout its range.

Nest—Of dried leaves, on the ground.

Eggs—Four; buffy, spotted with shades of rufous.

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Lee’s Addition:

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 ESV)

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:14 ESV)

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (Acts 17:27 KJV)

Thinking about how the Woodcock is protected by the way the Lord created it to blend in to the leaves and bark reminded me of trying to find something. The above verses came to mind. I trust we are all seeking the Lord, His Salvation and His Blessings.

The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), sometimes colloquially referred to as the Timberdoodle, is a small chunky shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodcock spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, young-forest habitats, where the birds’ brown, black, and gray plumage provides excellent camouflage.

Because of the male Woodcock’s unique, beautiful courtship flights, the bird is welcomed as a harbinger of spring in northern areas. It is also a popular game bird, with about 540,000 killed annually by some 133,000 hunters in the U.S.

The American Woodcock is the only species of Woodcock inhabiting North America. Although classified with the sandpipers and shorebirds in Family Scolopacidae, the American Woodcock lives mainly in upland settings. Its many folk names include timberdoodle, bogsucker, night partridge, brush snipe, hokumpoke, and becasse.

The American Woodcock has a plump body, short legs, a large, rounded head, and a long, straight bill. Adults are 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) long and weigh 5 to 8 ounces (140 to 230 g). Females are considerably larger than males. The bill is 2.5 to 2.75 inches (6.3 to 7.0 cm) long.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) 1891 ©WikiC

“Woodcock, with attenuate primaries, nat. size.” 1891.

The plumage is a cryptic mix of different shades of browns, grays, and black. The chest and sides vary from yellowish white to rich tans. The nape of the head is black, with three or four crossbars of deep buff or rufous. The feet and toes, which are small and weak, are brownish gray to reddish brown.

Woodcock have large eyes located high in the head, and their visual field is probably the largest of any bird, 360° in the horizontal plane and 180° in the vertical plane.

The Woodcock uses its long bill to probe in the soil for food, mainly invertebrates and especially earthworms. A unique bone-and-muscle arrangement lets the bird open and close the tip of its upper bill, or mandible, while it is sunk in the ground. Both the underside of the upper mandible and the long tongue are rough-surfaced for grasping slippery prey.

Color Key – Many of the members of the family Scolopacidæ are probing Snipe. The Woodcock, Wilson Snipe, and Dowitcher are good examples. Their bill is long and sensitive and they can curve or move its tip without opening it at the base. When the bill is thrust into the mud the tip may therefore grasp a worm and it thus becomes a finger as well as a probe.

Besides the American Woodcock, there are these: (Photos from IBC)

Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola)
Amami Woodcock (Scolopax mira)
Javan Woodcock (Scolopax saturata) or Dusky
New Guinea Woodcock (Scolopax rosenbergii)
Bukidnon Woodcock (Scolopax bukidnonensis)
Sulawesi Woodcock (Scolopax celebensis)
Moluccan Woodcock (Scolopax rochussenii)
American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

The above article is the first article in the monthly serial that was started in January 1897 “designed to promote Knowledge of Bird-Live.” These include Color Photography, as they call them, today they are drawings. There are at least three Volumes that have been digitized by Project Gutenberg.

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The American Scoter

The Previous Article – The Anhinga Or Snake Bird

ABC’s Of The Gospel

Links:

Scolopacidae – Sandpipers, Snipes

American Woodcock – All About Birds

American Woodcock – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 2 #1 – Snake Bird

August 8, 2012 by Lee

From col. F. C. Baker.

THE ANHINGA OR SNAKE BIRD.

HE Snake Bird is very singular indeed in appearance, and interesting as well in its habits. Tropical and sub-tropical America, north to the Carolinas and Southern Illinois, where it is a regular summer resident, are its known haunts. Here it is recognized by different names, as Water Turkey, Darter, and Snake Bird. The last mentioned seems to be the most appropriate name for it, as the shape of its head and neck at once suggest the serpent. In Florida it is called the Grecian Lady, at the mouth of the Mississippi, Water Crow, and in Louisiana, Bec a Lancette. It often swims with the body entirely under water, its head and long neck in sight like some species of water snakes, and has no doubt more than once left the impression on the mind of the superstitious sailor that he has seen a veritable sea serpent, the fear of which lead him to exaggerate the size of it.

This bird so strange in looks and action is common in summer in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, frequenting the almost impenetrable swamps, and is a constant resident of Florida.

As a diver the Snake Bird is the most wonderful of all the Ducks. Like the Loon it can disappear instantly and noiselessly, swim a long distance and reappear almost in an opposite direction to that in which naturally it would be supposed to go. And the ease with which, when alarmed, it will drop from its perch and leave scarcely a ripple on the surface of the water, would appear incredible in so large a bird, were it not a well known fact. It has also the curious habit of sinking like a Grebe.

The nests of the Anhinga are located in various places, sometimes in low bushes at a height from the ground of only a few feet, or in the upper branches of high trees, but always over water. Though web footed, it is strong enough to grasp tightly the perch on which it nests. This gives it a great advantage over the common Duck which can nest only on the ground. Sometimes Snake Birds breed in colonies with various species of Herons. From three to five eggs, bluish, or dark greenish white, are usually found in the nest.

Prof. F. C. Baker, secretary of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, to whom we are indebted for the specimen presented here, captured this bird at Micco, Brevard Co., Florida, in April, 1889. He says he found a peculiar parasite in the brain of the Anhinga.

The Anhingas consist of but one species, which has a representative in the warmer parts of each of the great divisions of the earth. The number seen together varies from eight or ten to several hundred.

The hair-like feathers on the neck form a sort of loose mane.

When asleep the bird stands with its body almost erect. In rainy weather it often spends the greater part of the day in an erect attitude, with its neck and head stretched upward, remaining perfectly motionless, so that the water may glide off its plumage. The fluted tail is very thick and beautiful and serves as a propeller as well as a rudder in swimming.
Summary

SNAKE BIRD.—Anhinga anhinga. Other names: “Water Turkey,” “Darter,” “Water Crow,” “Grecian Lady.”

Range—Tropical and sub-tropical America.

Nest—Of sticks, lined with moss, rootlets, etc., in a bush or tree over the water.

Eggs—Two to four; bluish white, with a chalky deposit.

Anhinga Dryed at Lake Hollingsworth

Lee’s Addition:

Anhingas are very common here in central Florida. We see them “hanging out to dry” all the time. That, or swimming in the lake with only their neck sticking out. They do look like a snake at times.

The Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird.

It is a cormorant-like bird with an average body length of 85 cm (33 in), a wingspan of 117 cm (46 in), and a mass of up to 1.35 kg (3.0 lb). It is a dark-plumaged piscivore with a very long neck, and often swims with only the neck above water. When swimming in this style the name Snakebird is apparent, since only the colored neck appears above water the bird looks like a snake ready to strike.

Most of the male Anhinga’s body is a glossy black green with the wings, base of wings, and tail being a glossy black blue. The tip of the tail has white feathers. The back of the head and the neck have elongated feathers that have been described as gray or light purple white. The upper back of the body and wings is spotted or streaked with white.

Anhinga Female resting

The female Anhinga is similar to the male Anhinga except that it has a pale gray-buff or light brown head, neck, and upper chest. The lower chest or breast is a chestnut color and as compared to the male, the female has a more brown back.

This bird is often mistaken for the Double-crested Cormorant due to its similar size and behavior. However, the two species can be differentiated by their tails and bills. The tail of the anhinga is wider and much longer than that of the cormorant. The bill of the anhinga is pointed, while the bill of the cormorant has a hook-tip.

The Anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to Indian (Anhinga melanogaster), African (A. rufa), and Australian (A. novaehollandiae) Darters.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The American Woodcock

Previous Article – The Wood Duck

We stern Tanager: Red, Yellow, Black and White

Links:

Anhingida – Anhings and Darters Family

SULIFORMES – Gannets, Cormorants, Frigatebirds, Anhingas – Order

Anhinga – Wikipedia

Ian’s Bird of the Week – White-throated Dipper

August 6, 2012 by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – White-throated Dipper ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 8-5-12

Here’s another species from Bushy Park in Dublin, the White-throated Dipper, this time on the River Dodder. This featured as bird of the week 5 years ago, so please forgive the repetition but I have some nice photos to share. Dippers – there are 6 species world-wide – are rather special in that they are the only truly aquatic Passerines (song birds), living exclusively on and in fast flowing streams and rivers and getting all their food from the water. They are dumpy, short-tailed, starling-sized birds and, as they often cock their tails, look a bit like giant (Winter) Wrens.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 1

They also build domed nests but the resemblance to wrens ends there, though, and they are unrelated belonging to their own family, the Cinclidae. They feed on aquatic larvae, such as Caddis Fly larvae, and other invertebrates such as freshwater crustaceans and molluscs.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 2

Not only do they wade and swim with ease, they will also walk along the bottom of the stream gripping onto stones with their strong feet and even dive, using their wings to propel themselves under water.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 3

The bird in the third photo is almost completely submerged, and if you look carefully at the fourth photo, the brown shape in the centre is a completely submerged one with only a little eddy to show where it went under the surface.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 4

They use their slightly upturned bill to probe for food under rocks and stones. The one in the fifth photo has just surfaced with a tasty grub.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 5

This same bird only moments before had appeared with a Caddis Fly larva in its characteristic tube, made out of spun silk and often camouflaged with attached sand, sixth photo. The presence of Caddis Fly larvae is supposed to indicated a healthy river system, though the depressing amount of water-borne litter in the River Dodder makes it look otherwise.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 6

We saw Dippers on most occasions when we took the dogs for a walk. It’s popular jogging and dog-walking spot and the Dippers are used to disturbance and are remarkably approachable, being usually rather shy. They nest here too, and the slight bemused looking individual in the seventh photo is a recently-fledged juvenile, distinguishable by the scaly pattern on the chest, the overall grey colour and the pale legs.

White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) by Ian 7

I’ve seen Brown Dippers in the Himalayas in Sikkim, White-capped Dippers in the Andes in Ecuador and American Dippers in the Cascade Mountains of Northeastern California. The White-throated Dipper is a bird of mainly and often icy, highland streams in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Seeing them so easily in suburban Dublin, between Terenure and Rathfarnham 6 km from the city centre (take the 15B bus) is truly wonderful.

Best wishes
Ian
**************************************************
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Check the latest website updates:
http://www.birdway.com.au/#updates

Lee’s Addition:

Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, (Psalms 98:8 NKJV)

What an amazing little bird. Its ability to swim and walk underwater is very interesting. Thanks again, Ian, for sharing another of your adventures.

As Ian mentioned they are in the Cinclidae family. There are five species in that family. After checking out his photos, check the Birds of the World page here.

Ian’s Cinclidae Family page.

Cinclidae – Dipper Family

Dippers – Wikipedia

Dippers – IBC

Birds Vol 2 #1 – Wood Duck

August 4, 2012 by Lee

THE WOOD DUCK

From col. F. M. Woodruff.

THE WOOD DUCK.

A great many people think that this is the most beautiful bird of North America. It is called Wood Duck because it usually makes its nest in the hollow of a tree that overhangs the water. If it can find a squirrel’s or woodpecker’s hole in some stump or tree, there it is sure to nest.

A gentleman who delighted in watching the Wood Duck, tells about one that built her nest in the hollow of a tree that hung over the water. He was anxious to see how the little ones, when hatched, would get down.

In a few days he knew that the ducklings were out, for he could hear their pee, pee, pee. They came to the edge of the nest, one by one, and tumbled out into the water.

You know a duck can swim as soon as it comes out of the egg.

Sometimes the nest is in the hollow of a tree that is a short distance from the water.

Now how do you suppose the ducklings get there as they do?

If the nest is not far from the ground, the mother bird lets them drop from it on the dried grass and leaves under the tree. She then carries them in her bill, one by one, to the water and back to the nest.

If the nest should be far from the ground, she carries them down one by one.

This same gentleman says that he once saw a Wood Duck carry down thirteen little ones in less than ten minutes. She took them in her bill by the back of the neck or the wing.

When they are a few days old she needs only to lead the way and the little ones will follow.

The Wood Duck is also called Summer Duck. This is because it does not stay with us during the winter, as most ducks do.

It goes south to spend the winter and comes back north early in the spring.

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) by Dan

THE WOOD DUCK.

UITE the most beautiful of the native Ducks, with a a richness of plumage which gives it a bridal or festive appearance, this bird is specifically named Spousa, which means betrothed. It is also called Summer Duck, Bridal Duck, Wood Widgeon, Acorn Duck and Tree Duck.

It is a fresh water fowl, and exclusively so in the selection of its nesting haunts. It inhabits the whole of temperate North America, north to the fur countries, and is found in Cuba and sometimes in Europe. Its favorite haunts are wooded bottom-lands, where it frequents the streams and ponds, nesting in hollows of the largest trees. Sometimes a hole in a horizontal limb is chosen that seems too small to hold the Duck’s plump body, and occasionally it makes use of the hole of an Owl or Woodpecker, the entrance to which has been enlarged by decay.

Wilson visited a tree containing a nest of a Wood or Summer Duck, on the banks of Tuckahoe river, New Jersey. The tree stood on a declivity twenty yards from the water, and in its hollow and broken top, about six feet down, on the soft decayed wood were thirteen eggs covered with down from the mother’s breast. The eggs were of an exact oval shape, the surface smooth and fine grained, of a yellowish color resembling old polished ivory. This tree had been occupied by the same pair, during nesting time, for four successive years. The female had been seen to carry down from the nest thirteen young, one by one, in less than ten minutes. She caught them in her bill by the wing or back of the neck, landed them safely at the foot of the tree, and finally led them to the water. If the nest be directly over the water, the little birds as soon as hatched drop into the water, breaking their fall by extending their wings.

Many stories are told of their attachment to their nesting places. For several years one observer saw a pair of Wood Ducks make their nest in the hollow of a hickory which stood on the bank, half a dozen yards from a river. In preparing to dam the river near this point, in order to supply water to a neighboring city, the course of the river was diverted, leaving the old bed an eighth of a mile behind, notwithstanding which the ducks bred in the old place, the female undaunted by the distance which she would have to travel to lead her brood to the water.

While the females are laying, and afterwards when sitting, the male usually perches on an adjoining limb and keeps watch. The common note of the drake is peet-peet, and when standing sentinel, if apprehending danger, he makes a noise not unlike the crowing of a young cock, oe-eek. The drake does not assist in sitting on the eggs, and the female is left in the lurch in the same manner as the Partridge.

The Wood Duck has been repeatedly tamed and partially domesticated. It feeds freely on corn meal soaked in water, and as it grows, catches flies with great dexterity.

Summary

WOOD DUCK.—Aix sponsa. Coloring varied; most beautiful of ducks. Other names: “Summer Duck,” “Bridal Duck,” “Wood Widgeon,” “Tree Duck.”

Range—North America. Breeds from Florida to Hudson’s Bay; winters south.

Nest—Made of grasses, usually placed in a hole in tree or stump.

Eggs—Eight to fourteen; pale, buffy white.

Wood Duck by Dan at Lake Hollingsworth

Lee’s Addition:

The Wood Duck is in the Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans Family. The Aix genus includes the Wood Duck and also the beautiful Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata). “The adult male has distinctive multicoloured iridescent plumage and red eyes,with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colourful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads.” When the male is in non-breeding plumage the colors are more like the female, but with some differences. Here is a photo taken yesterday at Lake Morton of a male Wood Duck.

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Male Lake Morton 8-3-12

Wood Duck Male Lake Morton 8-3-12

Here is a picture of the female I also photographed yesterday.

Wood Duck Female Lake Morton 8-3-12

The male’s call is a rising whistle, “jeeeeee”; the females utter a drawn-out, rising squeal, “oo-eek,” when flushed, and a sharp “cr-r-ek, cr-e-ek” for an alarm call.

Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes or ponds, and creeks in eastern North America, the west coast of the United States and western Mexico. They usually nest in cavities in trees close to water, although they will take advantage of nesting boxes in wetland locations if available. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators. Unlike most other ducks, the Wood Duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season—the only North American duck that can do so.

The population of the Wood Duck was in serious decline in the late 19th century as a result of severe habitat loss and market hunting both for meat and plumage for the ladies’ hat market in Europe. By the beginning of the 20th century Wood Ducks had virtually disappeared from much of their former range. In response to the Migratory Bird Treaty established in 1916 and enactment of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, wood duck populations began to recover slowly. By ending unregulated hunting and taking measures to protect remaining habitat, wood duck populations began to rebound in the 1920s. The development of the artificial nesting box in the 1930s gave an additional boost to Wood Duck production.

Landowners as well as park and refuge managers can encourage Wood Ducks by building Wood Duck nest boxes near lakes, ponds, and streams. Fulda, Minnesota has adopted the Wood Duck as an unofficial mascot, and a large number of nest boxes can be found in the area.

Expanding North American Beaver populations throughout the Wood Duck’s range have also helped the population rebound as beavers create an ideal forested wetland habitat for Wood Ducks.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Anhinga Or Snake Bird

Previous Article – The Canvas-Back Duck

Wordless Birds

Links:

Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans

Wood Duck – All About Birds

Wood Duck – Wikipedia

Bet you never knew ducklings bounce – by xaandria86 – YouTube

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The American Avocet

August 3, 2012 by Lee

American Avocet – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897 From col. F. M. Woodruff

THE AMERICAN AVOCET.

HITE SNIPE, Yelper, Lawyer, and Scooper are some of the popular names applied in various localities to this remarkably long-legged and long and slender-necked creature, which is to be found in temperate North America, and, in winter, as far south as Cuba and Jamaica. In north-eastern Illinois the Avocet generally occurs in small parties the last of April and the first of May, and during September and the early part of October, when it frequents the borders of marshy pools. The bird combines the characteristics of the Curlew and the Godwit, the bill being recurved.

The cinnamon color on the head and neck of this bird varies with the individual; sometimes it is dusky gray around the eye, especially in the younger birds.

The Avocet is interesting and attractive in appearance, without having any especially notable characteristics. He comes and goes and is rarely seen by others than sportsmen.

american avocet. From col. F. M. Woodruff.

Summary

AMERICAN AVOCET.—Recurvirostra americana. Other names: “White Snipe,” “Yelper,” “Lawyer,” “Scooper.”

Range—Temperate North America.

Nest—A slight depression in the ground.

Eggs—Three or four; pale olive or buffy clay color, spotted with chocolate.

American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) by Jim Fenton

Lee’s Addition:

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3 KJV)

The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. This avocet has long, thin, gray legs, giving it its colloquial name, “blue shanks”. The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. The neck and head are cinnamon colored in the summer and gray in the winter. The long, thin bill is upturned at the end. The adult bird measures 16–20 in (40–51 cm) in length, 27–30 in (68–76 cm) and 9.7–15 oz (275–420 g) in weight.

The breeding habitat is marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the mid-west and on the Pacific coast of North America. American avocets form breeding colonies numbering dozens of pairs. When breeding is over the birds gather in large flocks, sometimes including hundreds of birds. Nesting occurs near water, usually on small islands or boggy shorelines where access by predators is difficult. The female lays four eggs in a saucer-shaped nest, and both sexes take turns incubating them. Upon hatching, the chicks feed themselves; they are never fed by their parents. They can walk, swim, and even dive within 24 hours of hatching.

This species is migratory, and mostly winters on the southern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico and the United States.

The American Avocet forages in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks its crustacean and insect prey.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Canvas-Back Duck

The Previous Article – The Mallard Duck

ABC’s Of The Gospel

Links:

Recurvirostridae – Stilts, Avocets

American Avocet – All About Birds

American Avocet – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Canvas-back Duck

August 2, 2012 by Lee

The Canvasback Duck, Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK.

HITE-BACK, Canard Cheval, (New Orleans,) Bull-Neck, and Red-Headed Bull-Neck, are common names of the famous Canvas-Back, which nests from the northern states, northward to Alaska. Its range is throughout nearly all of North America, wintering from the Chesapeake southward to Guatemala.

“The biography of this duck,” says Mabel Osgood Wright, “belongs rather to the cook-book than to a bird list,” even its most learned biographers referring mainly to its “eatable qualities,” Dr. Coues even taking away its character in that respect when he says “there is little reason for squealing in barbaric joy over this over-rated and generally under-done bird; not one person in ten thousand can tell it from any other duck on the table, and only then under the celery circumstances,” referring to the particular flavor of its flesh, when at certain seasons it feeds on vallisneria, or “water celery,” which won its fame. This is really not celery at all, but an eel-grass, not always found through the range of the Canvas-Back. When this is scarce it eats frogs, lizards, tadpoles, fish, etc., so that, says Mrs. Osgood, “a certificate of residence should be sold with every pair, to insure the inspiring flavor.”

The opinion held as to the edible qualities of this species varies greatly in different parts of the country. No where has it so high a reputation as in the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay, where the alleged superiority of its flesh is ascribed to the abundance of “water celery.” That this notion is erroneous is evident from the fact that the same plant grows in far more abundance in the upper Mississippi Valley, where also the Canvas-Back feeds on it. Hence it is highly probable that fashion and imagination, or perhaps a superior style of cooking and serving, play a very important part in the case. In California, however, where the “water celery” does not grow, the Canvas-Back is considered a very inferior bird for the table.

It has been hunted on Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries with such inconsiderate greed that its numbers have been greatly reduced, and many have been driven to more southern waters.

In and about Baltimore, the Canvas-Back, like the famous terrapin, is in as high favor for his culinary excellence, as are the women for beauty and hospitality. To gratify the healthy appetite of the human animal this bird was doubtless sent by a kind Providence, none the less mindful of the creature comforts and necessities of mankind than of the purely aesthetic senses.

Summary

CANVAS-BACK.—Aythya vallisneria. Other names: “White-Back,” “Bull-Neck,” “Red-Headed Bull-Neck.”

Range—North America. Breeds only in the interior, from northwestern states to the Arctic circle; south in winter to Guatemala.

Nest—On the ground, in marshy lakesides.

Eggs—Six to ten; buffy white, with bluish tinge.

Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) by Daves BirdingPix

Lee’s Addition:

The Canvas-Back Duck is now the Canvasback (Aythya valisineria). Wikipedia (with editing) says The Canvasback is the largest of the North American diving ducks, that ranges from between 19–22 in (48–56 centimetres) long and weighs approximately 1.90–3.50 lbs (862–1,588 gram), with a wingspan of 31–35 in (79–89 centimetres). The canvasback has a distinctive wedge-shaped head and long graceful neck. The adult male (drake) has a black bill, a chestnut red head and neck, a black breast, a grayish back, black rump, and a blackish brown tail. The drake’s sides, back, and belly are white with fine vermiculation resembling the weave of a canvas, which gave rise to the bird’s common name. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray. The iris is bright red in the spring, but duller in the winter. The adult female (hen) also has a black bill, a light brown head and neck, grading into a darker brown chest and foreback. The sides, flanks, and back are grayish brown. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are bluish-gray. Its sloping profile distinguishes it from other ducks.

The breeding habitat of the Canvasback is in North America prairie potholes. The bulky nest is built from vegetation in a marsh and lined with down. Loss of nesting habitat has caused populations to decline. (That and apparently the killing of them per the article.) It prefers to nest over water on permanent prairie marshes surrounded by emergent vegetation, such as cattail and bulrushes, which provide protective cover. Other important breeding areas are the subarctic river deltas in Saskatchewan and the interior of Alaska.

Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) with young ©WikiC

It has a clutch size of approximately 5-11 eggs that are a greenish drab. The chicks are covered in down at hatching and able to leave the nest soon after. The Canvasback sometimes lays its eggs in other Canvasback nests and Redheads often parasitize Canvasback nests.

In the early 1950s it was estimated that there were 225,000 Canvasbacks wintering in the Chesapeake Bay; this represented one-half of the entire North American population. By 1985, there were only 50,000 ducks wintering there, or one-tenth of the population. Canvasbacks were extensively hunted around the turn of the 19th to 20th century, but federal hunting regulations restrict their harvest, so hunting was ruled out as a cause for the decline. Scientists have now concluded that the decline in duck populations was due to the decline in submerged aquatic vegetation acreage. Today the population has stabilized and is even increasing slightly, although it is nowhere near previous levels.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Wood Duck

Previous Article – Bird Song – July

Wordless Birds

Links:

Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans Family

Canvasback – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 2 #1 – Bird Song~July

August 1, 2012 by Lee

American Yellow Warbler (Dendroica aestiva) by J Fenton

Vol. II. No. 1. JULY, 1897.

BIRD SONG.

T SHOULD not be overlooked by the young observer that if he would learn to recognize at once any particular bird, he should make himself acquainted with the song and call notes of every bird around him. The identification, however, of the many feathered creatures with which we meet in our rambles has heretofore required so much patience, that, though a delight to the enthusiast, few have time to acquire any great intimacy with them. To get this acquaintance with the birds, the observer has need to be prepared to explore perilous places, to climb lofty trees, and to meet with frequent mishaps. To be sure if every veritable secret of their habits is to be pried into, this pursuit will continue to be plied as patiently as it has ever been. The opportunity, however, to secure a satisfactory knowledge of bird song and bird life by a most delightful method has at last come to every one.

A gentleman who has taken a great interest in Birds from the appearance of the first number, but whose acquaintance with living birds is quite limited, visited one of our parks a few days ago, taking with him the latest number of the magazine. His object, he said, was to find there as many of the living forms of the specimens represented as he could. “Seating myself amidst a small grove of trees, what was my delight at seeing a Red Wing alight on a telegraph wire stretching across the park. Examining the picture in Birds I was somewhat disappointed to find that the live specimen was not so brilliantly marked as in the picture. Presently, however, another Blackbird alighted near, who seemed to be the veritable presentment of the photograph. Then it occurred to me that I had seen the Red Wing before, without knowing its name. It kept repeating a rich, juicy note, oncher-la-ree-e! its tail tetering at quick intervals. A few days later I observed a large number of Red Wings near the Hyde Park water works, in the vicinity of which, among the trees and in the marshes, I also saw many other birds unknown to me. With Birds in my hands, I identified the Robin, who ran along the ground quite close to me, anon summoning with his beak the incautious angle worm to the surface. The Jays were noisy and numerous, and I observed many new traits in the Wood Thrush, so like the Robin that I was at first in some doubt about it. I heard very few birds sing that day, most of them being busy in search of food for their young.”

[continued on page 17.]

BIRD SONG—Continued from page 1.

Many of our singing birds may be easily identified by any one who carries in his mind the images which are presented in our remarkable pictures. See the birds at home, as it were, and hear their songs.

Those who fancy that few native birds live in our parks will be surprised to read the following list of them now visible to the eyes of so careful an observer as Mr. J. Chester Lyman.

“About the 20th of May I walked one afternoon in Lincoln Park with a friend whose early study had made him familiar with birds generally, and we noted the following varieties:

1 Magnolia Warbler.
2 Yellow Warbler.
3 Black Poll Warbler. (Black-polled Yellowthroat)
4 Black-Throated Blue Warbler.
5 Black-Throated Queen Warbler. (Black-throated Green Warbler?)
6 Blackburnian Warbler.
7 Chestnut-sided Warbler.
8 Golden-crowned Thrush.
9 Wilson’s Thrush. (Veery)
10 Song Thrush.
11 Catbird. (Grey)
12 Bluebird. (Eastern)
13 Kingbird. (Eastern)
14 Least Fly Catcher. (Flycatcher)
15 Wood Pewee Fly Catcher. (Eastern Wood Pewee)
16 Great Crested Fly Catcher. (Flycatcher)
17 Red-eyed Vireo.
18 Chimney Swallow. (Chimney Swift)
19 Barn Swallow.
20 Purple Martin.
21 Red Start. (American Redstart)
22 House Wren.
23 Purple Grackle. (Common)
24 White-throated Sparrow.
25 Song Sparrow.
26 Robin. (American)
27 Blue Jay.
28 Red-Headed Woodpecker.
29 Kingfisher. (Belted)
30 Night Hawk. (Common)
31 Yellow-Billed Cuckoo.
32 Scarlet Tanager, Male and Female.
33 Gull, or Wilson’s Tern. (Common Tern)
34 The Omni-present English Sparrow. (House)

“On a similar walk, one week earlier, we saw about the same number of varieties, including, however, the Yellow Breasted Chat, and the Mourning, Bay Breasted, and Blue Yellow Backed Warblers.”

The sweetest songsters are easily accessible, and all may enjoy their presence.

C. C. Marble.

House Sparrow by Ray

Lee’s Addition:

You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:10-12 ESV)

I added links to xeno-canto.org for the sound of the birds on the list. It took awhile to figure out what some of the birds are called today. I am sure some are incorrect, but did my best. I used the “song” recordings where available and a few of the “call” ones where either the birds don’t sing or no recording is available.

They each have a distinct sound even as an instrument does.

Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? (1 Corinthians 14:7-8 NKJV)

If the birds changed songs all the time, how would they find mates, defend their territory, or know the sound of an enemy? Isn’t the Lord gracious in the way He designed the birds to sing so uniquely.

Listening to them was actually quite enjoyable. They each have their own way of communicating to their fellow birds and/or enemies.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Canvas-Back Duck

Previous Article – The Mallard Duck

We stern Tanager: Red, Yellow, Black and White

Links:

xeno-canto.org – Birds Sounds of the World

Birdwatching – South Lake Howard Nature Park 7-28-12

July 28, 2012 by Lee

Black-Crowned Night-Heron at S Lk Howard

We spent about 25 minutes at the South Lake Howard Nature Park seeing what was around. I was trying to learn how to take photos “right-eyed” (See Anniversary and Other Things). Dan can shut one eye or the other, winking, but I can’t. I only can close the right eye. When I try to wink with the left eye, both eyes go shut. Oh, well, no one is perfect. Glad we stopped by the park to practice my new “technique.”

Little Blue Heron immature

We were walking on the boardwalk on the Lake Howard side and spotted a Tricolored Heron and an immature Little Blue Heron. Just as we pulled up the cameras, a Black-crowned Night-Heron popped up on the rail between us and them. Wow! He was very close and we were able to get its photo. Dan kept getting closer to get better shots and the Heron just stayed there until I got too close. Most times we see a Night-Heron, they are hidden in the grass or not really visible. After he left, another Little Blue hopped up on the rail. An Anhinga was in a tree and one of the birds flew to a tree.

Red-winged Blackbird female

When we crossed the road to the pond side, we spotted a Great Blue Heron perched on a tree. The Osprey was up on the Tower checking out the normal Bald Eagles’s domain. I am including the 17 species that I turned in to the eBird.org listing service. It is a nice way to keep track of your birdwatching adventures here in America. It is only for our birds. Not sure if other countries have something like it or not.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalms 37:3-4 KJV)

Enjoy the Slideshow.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

South Lake Howard Nature Park, Polk, US-FL

Jul 28, 2012 9:00 AM – 9:25 AM

Protocol: Traveling

0.5 mile(s)

17 species (+1 other taxa)

Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) 3

Great Blue Heron 1

Great Egret 3

Little Blue Heron 2

Tricolored Heron 1 Juvenile 1

Black-crowned Night-Heron 1

White Ibis 5

Black Vulture 1

Osprey 1

Common Gallinule 3

Limpkin 1

Mourning Dove 2

Monk Parakeet 4

Blue Jay 2

Fish Crow 1

Northern Mockingbird 1

Red-winged Blackbird 3

Boat-tailed Grackle 2

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Little Grebe

July 24, 2012 by Ian

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Little Grebe ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 7/22/12

When I was in Dublin – I’m now back home in North Queensland – and we were waiting for the arrival of my niece’s baby, we used to take the dogs for a walk in nearby Bushy Park along the River Dodder. In the park, there is a large artificial pond with an island and I soon found this Little Grebe or ‘Dabchick’ patiently incubating eggs on her nest.

Grebes are usually fairly shy, so a nesting one is a good photo opportunity as they build their floating nests in the open in shallow water. The nest is anchored to submerged vegetation and branches and the fact that it is floating gives it some protection from changing water levels after rain, for example. The second photo was taken on the 26 June, the day when my niece’s daughter finally arrived.

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) by Ian 2

It was a while before I could check the progress of the Little Grebe again and when we returned on the 9th June, third photo, the nest had vanished and, as there had been some bad weather in the meantime, I feared the worst. Both adults were still present but there was no obvious sign of any chicks. However, if you look carefully at this bird, you’ll see that the left wing is slightly raised and not folded flat.

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) by Ian 3

The reason for this became clear when the bird turned around, revealing a chick carefully tucked away under the wing.

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) by Ian 4

The fourth photo was taken on the same day. We returned again 4 days later and I saw only the one adult and no chick but there is plenty of cover around the island and I may have missed it.

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) by Ian 5

Any Australian birders would immediately notice the similarity between the Eurasian Little Grebe and the Australasian Grebe. They can be distinguished in breeding plumage by the amount of rufous on the neck, throat and breast. These are rufous in the Little Grebe (hence the specific name ruficollis) but the throat and breast of the Australasian Grebe are black as in the fifth photo. Other distinguishing field marks are the yellow, rather than reddish-brown, iris and the greater amount of white under the tail of the Australasian Grebe, though the latter is not evident in this photo.

Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) by Ian

These are fairly trivial differences and for a long time the two were treated as conspecific. However, the ranges of the two overlap in New Guinea (are ‘sympatric’) and it is usual to treat them as separate species with the Little Grebe being widespread throughout Eurasia and Africa and the Australasian Grebe occurring in New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

Best wishes

Ian
**************************************************
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Check the latest website updates:
http://www.birdway.com.au/#updates
**************************************************

Lee’s Addition:

I love the photos of the little one riding under the wing of the parent. Of course that brings to mind several verses.

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, (Psalms 17:8 KJV)

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. (Psalms 36:7 KJV)

He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (Psalms 91:4 NKJV)

We see the Pied-billed Grebe and the Horned Grebe here. It would be neat to see those two that Ian had the privilege of seeing. The Grebes belong to the Podicipedidae family. There are 23 Grebes worldwide.

See more:

Ian’s Bird of the Week articles.

Podicipedidae – Grebes Family

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Mallard Duck

July 16, 2012 by Lee

THE MALLARD DUCK

THE MALLARD DUCK.

We should probably think this the most beautiful of ducks, were the Wood Duck not around.

His rich glossy-green head and neck, snowy white collar, and curly feathers of the tail are surely marks of beauty.

But Mr. Mallard is not so richly dressed all of the year. Like a great many other birds, he changes his clothes after the holiday season is over. When he does this, you can hardly tell him from his mate who wears a sober dress all the year.

Most birds that change their plumage wear their bright, beautiful dress during the summer. Not so with Mr. Mallard. He wears his holiday clothes during the winter. In the summer he looks much like his mate.

Usually the Mallard family have six to ten eggs in their nest. They are of a pale greenish color—very much like the eggs of our tame ducks that we see about the barnyards.

Those who have studied birds say that our tame ducks are descendants of the Mallards.

If you were to hear the Mallard’s quack, you could not tell it from that of the domestic duck.

The Mallard usually makes her nest of grass, and lines it with down from her breast. You will almost always find it on the ground, near the water, and well sheltered by weeds and tall grasses.

It isn’t often you see a duck with so small a family. It must be that some of the ducklings are away picking up food.

Do you think they look like young chickens?

From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) at Lake Parker By Dan’sPix

THE MALLARD DUCK.

HE Mallard Duck is generally distributed in North America, migrating south in winter to Panama, Cuba, and the Bahamas. In summer the full grown male resembles the female, being merely somewhat darker in color. The plumage is donned by degrees in early June, and in August the full rich winter dress is again resumed. The adult males in winter plumage vary chiefly in the extent and richness of the chestnut of the breast.

The Mallard is probably the best known of all our wild ducks, being very plentiful and remarkable on account of its size. Chiefly migrant, a few sometimes remain in the southern portion of Illinois, and a few pairs sometimes breed in the more secluded localities where they are free from disturbance. Its favorite resorts are margins of ponds and streams, pools and ditches. It is an easy walker, and can run with a good deal of speed, or dive if forced to do so, though it never dives for food. It feeds on seeds of grasses, fibrous roots of plants, worms, shell fish, and insects. In feeding in shallow water the bird keeps the hind part of its body erect, while it searches the muddy bottom with its bill. When alarmed and made to fly, it utters a loud quack, the cry of the female being the louder. “It feeds silently, but after hunger is satisfied, it amuses itself with various jabberings, swims about, moves its head backward and forward, throws water over its back, shoots along the surface, half flying, half running, and seems quite playful. If alarmed, the Mallard springs up at once with a bound, rises obliquely to a considerable height, and flies off with great speed, the wings producing a whistling sound. The flight is made by repeated flaps, without sailing, and when in full flight its speed is hardly less than a hundred miles an hour.”

Early in spring the male and female seek a nesting place, building on the ground, in marshes or among water plants, sometimes on higher ground, but never far from water. The nest is large and rudely made of sedges and coarse grasses, seldom lined with down or feathers. In rare instances it nests in trees, using the deserted nests of hawks, crows, or other large birds. Six or eight eggs of pale dull green are hatched, and the young are covered over with down. When the female leaves the nest she conceals the eggs with hay, down, or any convenient material. As soon as hatched the chicks follow the mother to the water, where she attends them devotedly, aids them in procuring food, and warns them of danger. While they are attempting to escape, she feigns lameness to attract to herself the attention of the enemy. The chicks are wonderfully active little fellows, dive quickly, and remain under water with only the bill above the surface.

On a lovely morning, before the sun has fairly indicated his returning presence, there can be no finer sight than the hurrying pinions, or inspiring note than the squawk, oft repeated, of these handsome feathered creatures, as they seek their morning meal in the lagoons and marshes.

Summary

MALLARD DUCK.—Anas boschas. Other names: “Green-head,” “Wild Duck.” Adult male, in fall, winter, and spring, beautifully colored; summer, resembles female—sombre.

Range—Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere.

Nest—Of grasses, on the ground, usually near the water.

Eggs—Six to ten; pale green or bluish white.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) By Dan’sPix at Lake Hollingsworth

Lee’s Addition:

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20 NKJV)

We see Mallards all the time here in Central Florida. With over 500 lakes in Polk County, ducks, especially Mallards are quite common. A few of those lakes allow feeding and they become almost tame. Even the “Aflac” Duck (called that because of the Aflac Insurance ads) are actually a white version of the Mallard. (So I have been told.)

The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) belongs to the Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans Family. There are 172 species in the family at present. Not all are ducks of course. The Anas genera is made up of Ducks, Teals, Wigeons, the Gadwall, Shovelers and Pintails. The whole family has Whistling Ducks, Geese and Pygmy Geese, Swans, Shelducks, Pochards, Scaups, Scoters, Eiders, Mergansers, and various other “ducks.”

Wikipedia says,The Mallard or Wild Duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae.
The male birds (drakes) have a bright green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females are brown all over. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are gregarious. This species is the ancestor of almost all of the breeds of domestic ducks (Aflacs etc).

The Mallard is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long (of which the body makes up around two-thirds), has a wingspan of 81–98 cm (32–39 in), and weighs 0.72–1.58 kg (1.6–3.5 lb).

The breeding male is unmistakable, with a bright bottle-green head, black rear end and a yellowish orange (can also contain some red) bill tipped with black (as opposed to the black/orange bill in females). It has a white collar which demarcates the head from the purple-tinged brown breast, grey brown wings, and a pale grey belly. The dark tail has white borders.

The female Mallard is a mottled light brown, like most female dabbling ducks, and has buff cheeks, eyebrow, throat and neck with a darker crown and eye-stripe. However, both the female and male Mallards have distinct purple speculum edged with white, prominent in flight or at rest (though temporarily shed during the annual summer moult).

Upon hatching, the plumage colouring of the duckling is yellow on the underside and face (with streaks by the eyes) and black on the backside (with some yellow spots) all the way to the top and back of the head. Its legs and bill are also black. As it nears a month in age, the duckling’s plumage will start becoming drab, looking more like the female (though its plumage is more streaked) and its legs will lose their dark grey colouring.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) by Ray

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – Bird Song – July

Previous Article – The Semi-Palmated Ring Plover

Sharing The Gospel

Links:

Anatidae – Ducks, Geese & Swans Family

Mallard – All About Birds

Mallard – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Semi-Palmated Ring Plover

July 13, 2012 by GuestWriter

Ring Plover – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 2. July, 1897 No. 1

THE SEMI-PALMATED RING PLOVER.

N THEIR habits the Plovers are usually active; they run and fly with equal facility, and though they rarely attempt to swim, are not altogether unsuccessful in that particular.

The Semi-palmated Ring Plover utters a plaintive whistle, and during the nesting season can produce a few connected pleasing notes. The three or four pear-shaped, variagated eggs are deposited in a slight hollow in the ground, in which a few blades of grass are occasionally placed. Both parents assist in rearing the young. Worms, small quadrupeds, and insects constitute their food. Their flesh is regarded as a delicacy, and they are therefore objects of great attraction to the sportsman, although they often render themselves extremely troublesome by uttering their shrill cry and thus warning their feathered companions of the approach of danger. From this habit they have received the name of “tell-tales.” Dr. Livingstone said of the African species: “A most plaguey sort of public spirited individual follows you everywhere, flying overhead, and is most persevering in his attempts to give fair warning to all animals within hearing to flee from the approach of danger.”

The American Ring Plover nests as far north as Labrador, and is common on our shores from August to October, after which it migrates southward. Some are stationary in the southern states. It is often called the Ring Plover, and has been supposed to be identical with the European Ringed Plover.

It is one of the commonest of shore birds. It is found along the beaches and easily identified by the complete neck ring, white upon dark and dark upon light. Like the Sandpipers the Plovers dance along the shore in rhythm with the wavelets, leaving sharp half-webbed footprints on the wet sand. Though usually found along the seashore, Samuels says that on their arrival in spring, small flocks follow the courses of large rivers, like the Connecticut. He also found a single pair building on Muskeget, the famous haunt of Gulls, off the shore of Massachusetts. It has been found near Chicago, Illinois, in July.

THE RING PLOVER.

Plovers belong to a class of birds called Waders.

They spend the winters down south, and early in the spring begin their journey north. By the beginning of summer they are in the cold north, where they lay their eggs and hatch their young. Here they remain until about the month of August, when they begin to journey southward. It is on their way back that we see most of them.

While on their way north, they are in a hurry to reach their nesting places, so only stop here and there for food and rest.

Coming back with their families, we often see them in ploughed fields. Here they find insects and seeds to eat.

The Ring Plover is so called from the white ring around its neck.

These birds are not particular about their nests. They do not build comfortable nests as most birds do. They find a place that is sheltered from the north winds, and where the sun will reach them. Here they make a rude nest of the mosses lying around.

The eggs are somewhat pointed, and placed in the nest with the points toward the center. In this way the bird can more easily cover the eggs.

We find, among most birds, that after the nest is made, the mother bird thinks it her duty to hatch the young.

The father bird usually feeds her while she sits on the eggs. In some of the bird stories, you have read how the father and mother birds take turns in building the nest, sitting on the nest, and feeding the young.

Some father birds do all the work in building the nest, and take care of the birds when hatched.

Among plovers, the father bird usually hatches the young, and lets the wife do as she pleases.

After the young are hatched they help each other take care of them.

Plovers have long wings, and can fly very swiftly.

The distance between their summer and winter homes is sometimes very great.

Summary

SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER.—Ægialitis semi-palmata. Other names: “American Ring Plover,” “Ring Neck,” “Beach Bird.” Front, throat, ring around neck, and entire under parts white; band of deep black across the breast; upper parts ashy brown. Toes connected at base.

Range—North America in general, breeding in the Arctic and sub-arctic districts, winters from the Gulf States to Brazil.

Nest—Depression in the ground, with lining of dry grass.

Eggs—Three or four; buffy white, spotted with chocolate.

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) by S Slayton

Call from xeno-canto.org

Lee’s Addition:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth! (Psalms 8:3-9 NKJV)

The Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) is a small plover. We see them here at our shores. Florida has lots of shoreline.
This species weighs 0.78–2.2 oz (22–63 g) and measures 5.5–7.9 in (14–20 cm) in length and 14–22 in (35–56 cm) across the wings. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes and a short orange and black bill.

Their breeding habitat is open ground on beaches or flats across northern Canada and Alaska. They nest on the ground in an open area with little or no plant growth.
They are migratory and winter in coastal areas ranging from the United States to Patagonia. They are extremely rare vagrants to western Europe, although their true status may be obscured by the difficulty in identifying them from the very similar Ringed Plover of Eurasia, of which it was formerly considered a subspecies.
These birds forage for food on beaches, tidal flats and fields, usually by sight. They eat insects, crustaceans and worms.

“Broken wing” display

This bird resembles the Killdeer but is much smaller and has only one band. The term “semipalmated” refers to its partly webbed feet. Like the Killdeer and since its nest is on the ground, it uses a “broken-wing” display to lure intruders away from the nest. (Wikipedia)

If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; (Deuteronomy 22:6 NKJV)

Semipalmated Plovers belong to the Charadriidae – Plovers Family. There are 67 species that “are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings. Their bill are usually straight (except for the Wrybill) and short, their toes are short, hind toe could be reduced or absent, depending on species. Most Charadriidae also have relatively short tails, the Killdeer is the exception. In most genera, the sexes are similar, very little sexual dimorphism occurs between sexes. They range in size from the Collared Plover, at 26 grams and 14 cm (5.5 inches), to the Masked Lapwing, at 368 grams (13 oz) and 35 cm (14 inches)

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) ©USFWS

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Mallard Duck

Previous Article – The Bald-Headed Eagle

ABC’s Of The Gospel

Links:

Charadriidae – Plovers Family

Order – CHARADRIIFORMES

Semipalmated Plover – Wikipedia

Semipalmated Plover – All About Birds

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Bald-headed Eagle

July 8, 2012 by Lee

The Bald-headed Eagle (Bald Eagle) – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 2. July, 1897 No. 1

THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE.

Dear Boys and Girls:

I had hoped to show you the picture of the eagle that went through the war with the soldiers. They called him “Old Abe.” You will find on page 35 a long story written about him. Ask some one to read it to you.

I could not get “Old Abe,” or you should now be looking at his picture. He is at present in Wisconsin, and his owner would not allow him to be taken from home.

I did the next best thing, and found one that was very much like him. They are as near alike as two children of a family. Old Abe’s feathers are not quite so smooth, though. Do you wonder, after having been through the war? He is a veteran, isn’t he?

The picture is that of a Bald-headed Eagle. He is known, also, by other names, such as White-headed Eagle, Bird of Washington, Sea Eagle.

You can easily see by the picture that he is not bald-headed. The name White-headed would seem a better name. It is because at a distance his head and neck appear as though they were covered with a white skin.

He is called “Sea Eagle” because his food is mostly fish. He takes the fish that are thrown upon the shores by the waves, and sometimes he robs the Fish Hawk of his food. (Not today – there is a Sea Eagle which is a different Eagle.)

This mighty bird usually places his large nest in some tall tree. He uses sticks three to five feet long, large pieces of sod, weeds, moss, and whatever he can find.

The nest is sometimes five or six feet through. Eagles use the same nest for years, adding to it each year.

Young eagles are queer looking birds. When hatched, they are covered with a soft down that looks like cotton.

Their parents feed them, and do not allow them to leave the nest until they are old enough to fly. When they are old enough, the mother bird pushes them out of the nest. She must be sure that they can fly, or she would not dare do this. Don’t you think so?

Eagle in nest feeding eaglets-zoomed in by Dan

THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE.

THIS mighty bird of lofty flight is a native of the whole of North America, and may be seen haunting the greater portions of the sea coasts, as well as the mouths of large rivers. He is sometimes called the White-headed Eagle, the American Sea Eagle, the Bird of Washington, the Washington Eagle, and the Sea Eagle. On account of the snowy white of his head and neck, the name Bald Eagle has been applied to him more generally than any other.

Sea-faring men are partial to young Eagles as pets, there being a well established superstition among them that the ship that carries the “King of Birds” can never go down. The old Romans, in selecting the Eagle as an emblem for their imperial standard, showed this superstitious belief, regarding him as the favorite messenger of Jupiter, holding communion with heaven. The Orientals, too, believed that the feathers of the Eagle’s tail rendered their arrows invincible. The Indian mountain tribes east of Tennessee venerated the Eagle as their bird of war, and placed a high value on his feathers, which they used for headdresses and to decorate their pipes of peace.

The United States seems to have an abiding faith in the great bird, as our minted dollars show.

The nest of the Bald Eagle is usually placed upon the top of a giant tree, standing far up on the side of a mountain, among myriads of twining vines, or on the summit of a high inaccessible rock. The nest in the course of years, becomes of great size as the Eagle lays her eggs year after year in the same nest, and at each nesting season adds new material to the old nest. It is strongly and comfortably built with large sticks and branches, nearly flat, and bound together with twining vines. The spacious interior is lined with hair and moss, so minutely woven together as to exclude the wind. The female lays two eggs of a brownish red color, with many dots and spots, the long end of the egg tapering to a point. The parents are affectionate, attend to their young as long as they are helpless and unfledged, and will not forsake them even though the tree on which they rest be enveloped in flames. When the Eaglets are ready to fly, however, the parents push them from the perch and trust them to the high atmospheric currents. They turn them out, so to speak, to shift for themselves.

The Bald Eagle has an accommodating appetite, eating almost anything that has ever had life. He is fond of fish, without being a great fisher, preferring to rob the Fish-hawk of the fruits of his skillful labor. Sitting upon the side of a mountain his keen vision surveys the plain or valley, and detects a sheep, a young goat, a fat turkey or rooster, a pig, a rabbit or a large bird, and almost within an eye-twinkle he descends upon his victim. A mighty grasp, a twist of his talons, and the quarry is dead long before the Eagle lays it down for a repast. The impetuosity and skill with which he pursues, overtakes and robs the Fish-hawk, and the swiftness with which the Bald Eagle darts down upon and seizes the booty, which the Hawk has been compelled to let go, is not the least wonderful part of this striking performance.

The longevity of the Eagle is very great, from 80 to 160 years.

Summary

BALD EAGLE.—Haliæetus leucocephalus. Other names: “White-headed Eagle,” “Bird of Washington,” “Gray Eagle,” “Sea Eagle.” Dark brown. Head, tail, and tail coverts white. Tarsus, naked. Young with little or no white.

Range—North America, breeding throughout its range.

Nest—Generally in tall trees.

Eggs—Two or three, dull white.

Uncle Sam – Bald Eagle taken at Titusville Birding Festival

Lee’s Addition:

Today the Bald-headed Eagle is just the Bald Eagle. The Sea Eagle is a different Eagle, much larger than the Bald. Also, not so sure about 160 year life span. Will have to check that out.

We are fortunate here in Polk County and in Central Florida. We get to see Bald Eagles quite often in the winter. That picture of the nest was taken at South Lake Howard Nature Park where the Eagles return to have young each year. At Circle B Bar Reserve, which we write about, they have several active Bald Eagle nests. Right by our Publix supermarket, the eagles sit on the high electrical posts and scan the area for dinner. I used to have to travel far to see them, but now, we live right where they hang out.

I have to admit that when I see a Bald Eagle fly by or just sitting, I stop in my tracks. There is something about the Bald Eagle’s appearance that appeals to me. Also, the Eagle is a Bible Birds and is mentioned in 34 times in the King James Version, 32 in NKJV, 31 in NASB and 29 times in ESV. It varies in the other versions also. Still it is mentioned about 30 times or so. Most are great verses that tell of their strenght and mighty wings. What a magnificent creation.

Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. (Exodus 19:4 KJV)

Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? (Job 39:27 KJV)

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 KJV)

Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. (Micah 1:16 KJV)

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Semi-Palmated Ring Plover

Previous Article – Birds Vol 1 #6 – The Volume 1. – Index

Sharing The Gospel

Links:

Bible Birds – Eagles

Birds of the Bible – Eagles

Accipitridae – Family (Kites, Hawks & Eagles)

Amazing Free-Flying Bald Eagle “Challenger”

Bald Eagle – WhatBird

Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

Birdwatching from a Christian Perspective

Tag Archives: Photography

Birds Vol 2 #1 – American Woodcock

THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK.

THE WOODCOCK.

Birds Vol 2 #1 – Snake Bird

THE ANHINGA OR SNAKE BIRD.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – White-throated Dipper

Birds Vol 2 #1 – Wood Duck

THE WOOD DUCK.

THE WOOD DUCK.

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The American Avocet

THE AMERICAN AVOCET.

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Canvas-back Duck

THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK.

Birds Vol 2 #1 – Bird Song~July

Vol. II. No. 1. JULY, 1897.

BIRD SONG.

BIRD SONG—Continued from page 1.

Birdwatching – South Lake Howard Nature Park 7-28-12

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Little Grebe

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Mallard Duck

THE MALLARD DUCK.

THE MALLARD DUCK.

Sharing The Gospel

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Semi-Palmated Ring Plover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 2. July, 1897 No. 1

THE SEMI-PALMATED RING PLOVER.

THE RING PLOVER.

Birds Vol 2 #1 – The Bald-headed Eagle

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 2. July, 1897 No. 1

THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE.

THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK.

THE WOODCOCK.

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THE ANHINGA OR SNAKE BIRD.

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THE WOOD DUCK.

THE WOOD DUCK.

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THE AMERICAN AVOCET.

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THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK.

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Vol. II. No. 1. JULY, 1897.

BIRD SONG.

BIRD SONG—Continued from page 1.

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THE MALLARD DUCK.

THE MALLARD DUCK.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 2. July, 1897 No. 1

THE SEMI-PALMATED RING PLOVER.

THE RING PLOVER.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 2. July, 1897 No. 1

THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE.

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